Vehicle management server, vehicle management method, and non-transitory storage medium

ABSTRACT

A vehicle management server configured to manage information on a control device mounted on a vehicle, and information on a plurality of information terminals connectable with the control device is provided. The vehicle management server includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire information indicating a positional relationship between the information terminals and the control device; a determination unit configured to determine, based on the information indicating the positional relationship, whether or not there is a first information terminal that is out of a setting range that includes the control device among the information terminals; and a notification unit configured to transmit, based on whether or not there is the first information terminal, a first message to at least one second information terminal different from the first information terminal among the information terminals.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/006,221, filed Aug. 28, 2020, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. U.S. application Ser. No. 17/006,221claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Application No.2019-201575 filed on Nov. 6, 2019 including the specification, drawingsand abstract all of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle management server, a vehiclemanagement method, and a non-transitory storage medium.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, techniques of communicably connecting vehicles withinformation terminals, such as smartphones, and controlling the vehicleswith the information terminals have been proposed. For example, JapanesePatent Application Publication No. 2018-117298 discloses a systemconfigured to provide information regarding a residual energy amount ofa vehicle by using the function of a mobile terminal that cooperateswith the vehicle.

SUMMARY

Contract information regarding communication between a vehicle and aninformation terminal is generally registered and managed in the serveror the like. However, in the case where the owner of a vehicle ischanged by such reasons as transfer of the vehicle, the contractinformation regarding a transferrer (former user) remains in the serverunless the transferrer himself cancels the contract of his informationterminal. Since a transferee (new user) of the vehicle is unable torecognize whether or not the information terminal of the former userstays registered, the transferee may have an uneasy feeling.

The present disclosure provides a vehicle management server, a vehiclemanagement method, and a non-transitory storage medium that enable a newuser of a vehicle to recognize the possibility that an informationterminal of a former user stays registered in association with thevehicle.

A first aspect of the present disclosure relates to a vehicle managementserver configured to manage information on a control device mounted on avehicle, and information on a plurality of information terminalsconnectable with the control device. The vehicle management serverincludes an acquisition unit, a determination unit, and a notificationunit. The acquisition unit is configured to acquire informationindicating a positional relationship between the information terminalsand the control device. The determination unit is configured todetermine, based on the information indicating the positionalrelationship, whether or not there is a first information terminal thatis out of a setting range that includes the control device, among theinformation terminals. The notification unit is configured to transmit,based on whether or not there is the first information terminal, a firstmessage to at least one second information terminal different from thefirst information terminal among the information terminals.

In the first aspect, the control device may have a function ofconnecting to the information terminals by short distance wirelesscommunication. The acquisition unit may be configured to acquire theinformation as the information indicating the positional relationship onthe information terminals, connectable with the control device by theshort distance wireless communication, from the control device. Thedetermination unit may be configured to determine that, when there is aninformation terminal that is not included in the information on theinformation terminals acquired by the acquisition unit among theinformation terminals, the information terminal that is not included inthe acquired information on the information terminals is out of thesetting range.

In the above aspect, the acquisition unit may be configured to acquire,as the information indicating the positional relationship, locationinformation from the information terminals and the control device. Thedetermination unit may be configured to determine that, when there is aninformation terminal distanced by a set threshold or more from thecontrol device among the information terminals, the information terminaldistanced by the set threshold or more from the control device is out ofthe setting range.

In the above aspect, the acquisition unit may be configured to acquire,as the information indicating the positional relationship, locationinformation from the information terminals and the control device. Thedetermination unit may be configured to determine that, when there is aninformation terminal not located in the same block as that of thecontrol device among the information terminals based on map informationthat defines a plurality of blocks, the information terminal not locatedin the same block as the control device is out of the setting range.

In the above aspect, the determination unit is configured to determine,based on the location information acquired by the acquisition unit,whether or not a movement trajectory of the second information terminalis matched with a movement trajectory of the control device. Thenotification unit may be configured to transmit, when the movementtrajectory of the second information terminal is matched with themovement trajectory of the control device, the first message to thesecond information terminal.

In the above aspect, the notification unit may be configured totransmit, when the first information terminal is continuously out of thesetting range for a set time or more, the first message to at least thesecond information terminal.

In the above aspect, the second information terminal may be aninformation terminal within the setting range.

In the above aspect, the notification unit may be configured totransmit, when the first information terminal is continuously out of thesetting range for a set time or more, a second message to the firstinformation terminal.

In the above aspect, the acquisition unit may be configured toperiodically acquire the information as the information indicating thepositional relationship on the information terminals, connectable withthe control device by the short distance wireless communication, fromthe control device.

A second aspect of the present disclosure relates to a vehiclemanagement method executed by a vehicle management server for managinginformation on a control device mounted on a vehicle, and information ona plurality of information terminals connectable with the controldevice. The vehicle management method includes: acquiring informationindicating a positional relationship between a plurality of informationterminals and a control device; determining, based on the informationindicating the positional relationship, whether or not there is a firstinformation terminal that is out of a setting range set based on thecontrol device among the information terminals; and transmitting, basedon whether or not there is the first information terminal, a firstmessage to at least one second information terminal different from thefirst information terminal among the information terminals.

A third aspect of the present disclosure relates to a non-transitorystorage medium for storing commands that are executable by one or moreprocessors and that cause the one or more processors to executefollowing functions. The functions include: acquiring informationindicating a positional relationship between a plurality of informationterminals and a control device; determining, based on the informationindicating the positional relationship, whether or not there is a firstinformation terminal that is out of a setting range set based on thecontrol device among the information terminals; and transmitting, basedon whether or not there is the first information terminal, a firstmessage to at least one second information terminal different from thefirst information terminal among the information terminals.

With each aspect of the present disclosure, a new user of the vehicle isable to recognize the possibility that the information terminal of aformer user stays registered in association with the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denotelike elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a vehicle management systemincluding a vehicle management server according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure:

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a vehicle management process executed on thevehicle management server;

FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of a positional relationship acquisitionand determination process (first example);

FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of the positional relationshipacquisition and determination process (second example);

FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart of the positional relationshipacquisition and determination process (third example);

FIG. 6 is an image view illustrating the positional relationship in thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process in thefirst example;

FIG. 7 is an image view illustrating the positional relationship in thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process in thesecond example;

FIG. 8 is an image view illustrating the positional relationship in thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process in thethird example; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an application example of the vehiclemanagement process executed on the vehicle management server.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A vehicle management server of the present disclosure periodicallydetermines a positional relationship between a vehicle and a pluralityof mobile devices present around the vehicle, the mobile devices beingassociated with the vehicle. When there is a mobile device that is outof a setting range from the vehicle, the vehicle management servernotifies the presence of the mobile device having a low possibility ofbeing connected to the vehicle. Hence, a new user who received thenotification can recognize the possibility that the information terminalof a former user may stay registered in association with the vehicle.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be describedin detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a vehicle management systemincluding a vehicle management server according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. A vehicle management system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1includes a vehicle 100, a vehicle management server 200, and at leastone mobile device 300. The vehicle 100 includes a communication device110, a control device 120, and a display device 130.

The communication device 110 is communicably connected with the controldevice 120 and the display device 130 through an in-vehicle network,such as a controller area network (CAN). The communication device 110 iscommunicably connected with the vehicle management server 200 through awireless network, such as 4G and Wi-Fi, and is communicably connectedwith the mobile device 300 by short distance wireless communication,such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). Examples of the communicationdevice 110 may include a data communication module (DCM).

In one example, the control device 120 is a device called an electroniccontrol unit (ECU) that performs various control of the vehicle 100. Thecontrol device 120 such as an ECU includes a storage unit (notillustrated) that stores one or more programs executed by one or morecontrol units such as CPUs, and executes prescribed functions. Thecontrol device 120 can provide the vehicle management server 200 withinformation (for example, a device-specific ID, etc.) regarding themobile device 300 connectable with the vehicle 100 by short distancewireless communication. The control device 120 can provide the vehiclemanagement server 200 with information on the location of the vehicle100 using a location positioning function, such as GPS mounted in thevehicle 100.

The display device 130 is an information terminal including a displayscreen that displays the state of the vehicle 100. The display device130 can display a message transmitted through the wireless network fromthe vehicle management server 200. Examples of the display device 130may include a multi-information display and a car navigation devicemounted in the vehicle 100.

The mobile device 300 is an information terminal that is registered andmanaged in the vehicle management server 200 in association with thevehicle 100 so as to display the state of the vehicle 100 on the displayscreen. A current vehicle owner (new user) or the like can register themobile device 300 in the vehicle management server 200 by himself. Themobile device 300 is communicably connected with the vehicle managementserver 200, and is able to provide its own location information to thevehicle management server 200 using a location positioning function,such as GPS, mounted in the mobile device 300. The mobile device 300 isalso able to display a message transmitted from the vehicle managementserver 200. Examples of the mobile device 300 may includegeneral-purpose devices, such as smartphones, tablet devices, orpersonal computers, used by the owner of the vehicle 100.

The vehicle management server 200 manages the mobile device or devices300 that are associated with the vehicle 100 with respect to control ofthe vehicle 100. The mobile device 300 associated with the vehicle 100with respect to control of the vehicle 100 refers to the mobile device300 connectable to the control device 120 mounted in the vehicle 100through the communication device 110. In one example, the mobile device300 associated with the vehicle 100 with respect to control of thevehicle 100 is permitted to receive information regarding the state ofthe vehicle 100 (such as notification of start of program update,notification of completion of program download, and notification ofcompletion of program update) and to transmit instruction (such asaccepting program download, and accepting program start) for thenotified requests. The mobile device 300 associated with the vehicle 100with respect to control of the vehicle 100 may further be permitted toperform vehicle operations, such as locking and unlocking a vehicledoor, and turning on and off a vehicle electric power source.

The vehicle management server 200 is typically configured by including acomputer that includes a processor and a memory. As illustrated in FIG.1 , the vehicle management server 200 includes an acquisition unit 210,a determination unit 220, a notification unit 230, a storage unit 240,and a communication unit 250.

The acquisition unit 210 can acquire information indicating a positionalrelationship between one or more mobile devices 300 present around thevehicle 100 and the vehicle 100, i.e., a positional relationship betweenone or more mobile devices 300 and the control device 120, through thecommunication unit 250. The information indicating the positionalrelationship will be described later.

The determination unit 220 determines, based on the informationindicating the positional relationship acquired by the acquisition unit210, whether or not there is any mobile device 300 located outside aprescribed range from the vehicle 100. The prescribed range from thevehicle 100 may be set as a setting range that includes the controldevice 120. The setting range will be described later. The storage unit240 has information (device-specific ID) on the mobile devices 300registered in advance in association with the vehicle 100. Based on theinformation indicating the positional relationship acquired by theacquisition unit 210, the determination unit 220 determines whether eachof the mobile devices 300 in association with the vehicle 100 is insideor outside the setting range.

When the determination unit 220 determines that there is a mobile device300 that is located out of the setting range, the notification unit 230determines whether or not the pertinent mobile device 300 iscontinuously out of the setting range for a set time or more. When themobile device 300 is continuously out of the setting range for the settime or more, the notification unit 230 transmits a prescribed messageto the mobile device 300 or the vehicle 100 through the communicationunit 250. The set time can be set based on the frequency that thecommunication device 110 tries to communicate with the mobile devices300 by short distance wireless communication, the cycle that the vehiclemanagement server 200 acquires the information indicating the positionalrelationship from the vehicle 100, or the like.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for describing procedures of a vehicle managementprocess executed by the vehicle management server 200. For example, theprocess shown in FIG. 2 is started when the electric power source of thevehicle 100 is turned on.

Step S201: the acquisition unit 210 and the determination unit 220 ofthe vehicle management server 200 perform the process of acquiring theinformation indicating a positional relationship and determining thepositional relationship. The process will be shown in three examplesdescribed later.

Step S202: the determination unit 220 of the vehicle management server200 determines, based on the result of the process of step S201, whetherthere is any mobile device 300 (referred to as “first informationterminal” below) that is out of the setting range. When there is thefirst information terminal (YES in step S202), the process proceeds tostep S203. When there is no first information terminal (NO in stepS202), the vehicle management process is ended.

Step S203: the notification unit 230 of the vehicle management server200 determines whether or not the first information terminal iscontinuously out of the setting range for a set time or more. When thereare two or more first information terminals, the notification unit 230may determine whether or not at least one first information terminal iscontinuously out of the setting range for the set time or more. When thefirst information terminal is continuously out of the setting range forthe set time or more (YES in step S203), the process proceeds to stepS204. When the first information terminal is not continuously out of thesetting range for the set time or more (NO in step S203), the processproceeds to step S202.

Step S204: the notification unit 230 of the vehicle management server200 transmits a first message to the display device 130 of the mobiledevice 300 that is different from the first information terminal and/orthe vehicle 100 (referred to as “second information terminal” below)through the communication unit 250. The mobile device 300 as the secondinformation terminal may be present within the setting range, or may bepresent out of the setting range. Examples of the contents of the firstmessage may include “there is a registered information terminal that isout of connection with the vehicle for long time”, and “there is aregistered information terminal other than this terminal”. When thereare a plurality of second information terminals, the first message maybe transmitted to some of the second information terminals, or the firstmessage may be transmitted to all the second information terminals. Oncethe first message is transmitted, the vehicle management process isended.

FIRST EXAMPLE

FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart for illustrating a first example of thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process executedin step S201 of FIG. 2 .

Step S301: the acquisition unit 210 of the vehicle management server 200acquires, as the information indicating a positional relationship, IDs(referred to as “acquired IDs” below) of the mobile devices 300connectable with the vehicle 100 by short distance wirelesscommunication, from the vehicle 100. The IDs may be acquired on aconstant basis, or may periodically be acquired for a prescribed period.For example, the mobile devices 300 connectable with the vehicle 100 aremobile devices 300 that can be paired with the vehicle 100 by Bluetooth.

Step S302: the determination unit 220 of the vehicle management server200 compares the acquired IDs acquired by the acquisition unit 210 withthe IDs (referred to as “registered IDs” below) of the mobile devices300 in association with the vehicle 100, the mobile devices 300 beingregistered in advance in the storage unit 240.

Step S303: the determination unit 220 of the vehicle management server200 determines whether or not there is a registered ID that is notmatched with the acquired IDs, among the registered IDs registered inadvance in the storage unit 240. Here, the presence of the registered IDthat is not matched with the acquired IDs signifies that the mobiledevice 300 having the pertinent registered ID has not connected to thevehicle 100 by short distance wireless communication. It can be saidthat the mobile device 300 that has not connected to the vehicle 100 byshort distance wireless communication is not present around the vehicle100, and therefore has a high possibility of being the informationterminal registered by a past owner (former user).

When there is the registered ID that is not matched with the acquiredIDs (YES in step S303), the process proceeds to step S304. When there isno registered ID that is not matched with the acquired IDs (NO in stepS303), the positional relationship acquisition determination process isended, and the process proceeds to step S202.

Step S304: the determination unit 220 of the vehicle management server200 determines the mobile device 300 having the registered ID that isnot matched with the acquired IDs as the first information terminal thatis out of a setting range. Therefore, the setting range in this case isthe range covered by an electric wave of the short distance wirelesscommunication. When the first information terminal is determined, thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process is ended,and the process proceeds to step S202.

FIG. 6 is an image view illustrating the positional relationship in thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process in thefirst example. A mobile device 300-1 that is inside a setting range(ellipse by a dotted line) is connected with the vehicle 100 by shortdistance wireless communication. Accordingly, ID information (ID1)regarding the mobile device 300-1 is transmitted to the vehiclemanagement server 200. A mobile device 300-2 that is outside the settingrange is not connected with the vehicle 100 by short distance wirelesscommunication. Accordingly,

ID information (ID2) regarding the mobile device 300-2 is nottransmitted to the vehicle management server 200. Here, assume the casewhere “ID1” and “ID2” are registered in the vehicle management server200 as the registered IDs in association with the vehicle 100. In thiscase, since only the “ID1” information can be acquired as the acquiredID from the vehicle 100, “ID2” is not matched with the acquired ID.Hence, the determination unit 220 determines the mobile device 300-2having ID2 as the first information terminal (the mobile device 300-1having ID1 is determined as a second information terminal). As a resultof the determination, the notification unit 230 transmits a firstmessage to the mobile device 300-1 that is the second informationterminal.

SECOND EXAMPLE

FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart for illustrating a second example of thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process executedin step S201 of FIG. 2 .

Step S401: the acquisition unit 210 of the vehicle management server 200acquires, as the information indicating a positional relationship,location information regarding the vehicle 100 and location informationregarding all the mobile devices 300 that are registered in advance inthe storage unit 240 in association with the vehicle 100, from thevehicle 100 and the mobile devices 300. The information may be acquiredon a constant basis, or may periodically be acquired for a prescribedperiod. Examples of the location information may include informationindicating latitude and longitude of each location.

Step S402: the determination unit 220 of the vehicle management server200 derives, based on a plurality of pieces of location informationacquired by the acquisition unit 210, distances between the vehicle 100and the mobile devices 300, respectively.

Step S403: the determination unit 220 of the vehicle management server200 determines, based on the derived distances, whether or not there isa mobile device 300 that is distanced by a set threshold or more fromthe vehicle 100. The set threshold can be set based on the form of usage(commuting, leisure) of the vehicle 100 by the owner, or the like.Accordingly, it can be surmised that the distance between the mobiledevice 300 and the vehicle 100 being a set threshold or more indicatesthat the mobile device 300 is not in an activity range of the owner. Inother words, since the mobile device 300 that is distanced by the setthreshold or more from the vehicle 100 is not present around the vehicle100, there is a high possibility that the pertinent mobile device 300 isthe information terminal registered by the past owner (former user).

When there is a mobile device 300 distanced by the set threshold or morefrom the vehicle 100 (YES in step S403), the process proceeds to stepS404. When there is no mobile device 300 distanced by the set thresholdor more from the vehicle 100 (NO in step S403), the positionalrelationship acquisition and determination process is ended, and theprocess proceeds to step S202.

Step S404: the determination unit 220 of the vehicle management server200 determines the mobile device 300 distanced by the set threshold ormore from the vehicle 100 as the first information terminal that is outof the setting range. Therefore, the setting range in this case is acircular range with the set threshold as a radius. When the firstinformation terminal is determined, the positional relationshipacquisition and determination process is ended, and the process proceedsto step S202.

FIG. 7 is an image view illustrating the positional relationship in thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process in thesecond example. The vehicle management server 200 acquires locationinformation (x0, y0) from the vehicle 100, and further acquires locationinformation (x1, y1) from the mobile device 300-1 having a registered ID“ID1” associated with the vehicle 100, and location information (x2, y2)from the mobile device 300-2 having a registered ID “ID2”, respectively.Here, the distance (=√{(x0−x1)²+(y0−y1)²}) between the vehicle 100 andthe mobile device 300-1 becomes less than the set threshold, and thedistance (=√{(x0−x2)²+(y0−y2)²}) between the vehicle 100 and the mobiledevice 300-2 becomes the set threshold or more. Hence, the determinationunit 220 determines the mobile device 300-2 having ID2 as the firstinformation terminal (the mobile device 300-1 having ID1 is determinedas the second information terminal). As a result of the determination,the notification unit 230 transmits a first message to the mobile device300-1 that is the second information terminal.

THIRD EXAMPLE

FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart for illustrating a third example of thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process executedin step S201 of FIG. 2 .

Step S501: the acquisition unit 210 of the vehicle management server 200acquires, as the information indicating a positional relationship,location information regarding the vehicle 100 and location informationregarding all the mobile devices 300 that are registered in advance inthe storage unit 240 in association with the vehicle 100, from thevehicle 100 and the mobile devices 300. The information may be acquiredon a constant basis, or may periodically be acquired for a prescribedperiod. Examples of the location information may include informationindicating latitude and longitude of each location.

Step S502: the acquisition unit 210 of the vehicle management server 200acquires map information that predefines a plurality of blocks. The mapinformation may be stored in the storage unit 240 of the vehiclemanagement server 200 in advance, may be acquired from the vehicle 100,or may be acquired from external equipment (not illustrated) thatmanages the map information. Examples of the blocks defined in the mapinformation may include prefectures, or cities, towns and villages.

Step S503: the determination unit 220 of the vehicle management server200 determines, based on the location information regarding the vehicle100 and the mobile devices 300 and on the map information, whether ornot there is a mobile device 300 not in the same block as that of thevehicle 100. For example, assume the case where the vehicle 100 is inToyota city in Aichi Prefecture, and the mobile device 300 is in Nagoyacity in Aichi Prefecture. When the blocks are defined as prefectures,the vehicle 100 and the mobile device 300 are in the same block. Whenthe blocks are defined as cities, towns and villages, the vehicle 100and the mobile device 300 are not in the same block. It can be surmisedthat the mobile device 300 that is not in the same block as that of thevehicle 100 is not in the activity region of the owner of the vehicle100. In other words, since the mobile device 300 that is not in the sameblock as that of the vehicle 100 is not present around the vehicle 100,there is a high possibility that the pertinent mobile device 300 is theinformation terminal registered by the past owner (former user).

When there is a mobile device 300 that is not in the same block fromthat of the vehicle 100 (YES in step S503), the process proceeds to stepS504. When there is no mobile device 300 that is not in the same blockas that of the vehicle 100 (NO in step S503), the positionalrelationship acquisition and determination process of this time isended, and the process proceeds to step S202.

Step S504: the determination unit 220 of the vehicle management server200 determines the mobile device 300 that is not in the same block asthat of the vehicle 100 as the first information terminal that is out ofthe setting range. Therefore, the setting range in this case has theshape of a block. When the first information terminal is determined, thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process is ended,and the process proceeds to step S202.

FIG. 8 is an image view illustrating the positional relationship in thepositional relationship acquisition and determination process in thethird example. The vehicle management server 200 acquires locationinformation (x0, y0) from the vehicle 100, and further acquires locationinformation (x1, y1) from the mobile device 300-1 having a registered ID“ID1” associated with the vehicle 100, and location information (x2, y2)from the mobile device 300-2 having a registered ID “ID2”, respectively.The vehicle management server 200 also acquires the map information thatdefines blocks. Here, the vehicle 100 and the mobile device 300-1 are inthe same block (dotted line range), and the vehicle 100 and the mobiledevice 300-2 are not in the same block. Hence, the determination unit220 determines the mobile device 300-2 having ID2 as the firstinformation terminal (the mobile device 300-1 having ID1 is determinedas the second information terminal). As a result of the determination,the notification unit 230 transmits a first message to the mobile device300-1 that is the second information terminal.

In the case of the third example, the setting range that is adetermination area is large. Accordingly, there is a higher possibilitythat the mobile device 300 that should essentially be determined as afirst information terminal is determined as a second informationterminal. Therefore, in order to prevent transmission of the firstmessage to the mobile device 300 that is erroneously determined as asecond information terminal, whether a movement trajectory of thevehicle 100 is matched or not matched with a movement trajectory of thesecond information terminal may be determined based on the locationinformation, and the first message may be transmitted only to the secondinformation terminal having a movement trajectory matched with that ofthe vehicle 100. In the case of the third example, it is considered thatthe mobile device 300 that is not in the same block as that of thevehicle 100 has a low possibility of moving to the same block in a shorttime. Accordingly, when it is determined that there is the mobile device300 that is not in the same block as that of the vehicle 100 in stepS503, the first message may be transmitted to the second informationterminal at step S204, without determining whether or not the mobiledevice 300 (first information terminal) is continuously out of thesetting range for a set time or more in step S203.

APPLICATION EXAMPLE

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for describing an application example of thevehicle management process executed by the vehicle management server200. In the application example, step S205 is further added to thevehicle management process shown in FIG. 2 .

In the vehicle management process shown in FIG. 2 , the first message istransmitted to only the second information terminal that is within thesetting range (step S204). However, in the vehicle management processshown in FIG. 9 , a second message is also transmitted to the firstinformation terminal that is out of the setting range. Examples of thecontents of the second message may include “this information terminalmay be registered in association with the vehicle you do not own. Removeregistration if necessary” and “this information terminal may be incontract with the vehicle you do not own. Cancel the contract ifnecessary”. When there are a plurality of first information terminals,the second message may be transmitted to some of the first informationterminals, or the second message may be transmitted to all the firstinformation terminals.

As described above, according to the vehicle management server, thevehicle management method, and the non-transitory storage mediumaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the positionalrelationship between a vehicle and a plurality of mobile devices presentaround the vehicle is periodically determined, the mobile devices beingassociated with the vehicle. When there is the mobile device that is outof a setting range based on the vehicle, or the mobile device (firstinformation terminal) that is continuously out of the setting range fora set time or more, a first message indicating the presence of themobile device (first information terminal) having a low possibility ofbeing connected to the vehicle is notified to the mobile device (secondinformation terminals) that is different from the first informationterminal.

With the process, a new user who owns the vehicle can recognize, uponreception of the notification via the second information terminal, thepossibility that the mobile device of the former user may stayregistered in association with the vehicle.

The setting range may be set as a range where the vehicle and the mobiledevices are connectable by short distance wireless communication, may beset as a range where the vehicle is distanced by less than a setthreshold from the mobile devices, or may be set as a range where thevehicle and the mobile devices are present in the same block. This makesit possible to adequately determine that the mobile device (firstinformation terminal) that is out of the setting range based on thevehicle is the mobile device of the former user.

Although one embodiment of the present disclosure has been described inthe foregoing, the present disclosure may be defined as a vehiclemanagement server, a vehicle management method executed by the vehiclemanagement server including a processor and a memory, acomputer-readable non-transitory storage medium that stores a vehiclemanagement program and a control program for executing the vehiclemanagement method, a vehicle management system including the vehiclemanagement server and a vehicle, and the like.

The present disclosure is applicable to servers that manage vehicles,and the like.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing device, comprising: oneor more processor configured to: acquire information indicating apositional relationship between a first information terminal and avehicle in association with the first information terminal; and transmita first message to a second information terminal and a second message tothe first information terminal based on the information indicating thepositional relationship between the first information terminal and thevehicle, wherein the second information terminal is different from thefirst information terminal and is in association with the vehicle. 2.The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the oneor more processor is configured to transmit the first message to thesecond information terminal and the second message to the firstinformation terminal based on the information indicating the positionalrelationship between the first information terminal and the vehicle anda duration of the positional relationship between the first informationterminal and the vehicle.
 3. The information processing device accordingto claim 1, wherein the information indicating the positionalrelationship between the first information terminal and the vehicleincludes information indicating whether the first information terminallocated within a range where the first information terminal is able tocommunicate with the vehicle using a predetermined communication method.4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein theinformation indicating the positional relationship between the firstinformation terminal and the vehicle includes information indicating adistance between the first information terminal and the vehicle.
 5. Theinformation processing device according to claim 4, wherein the one ormore processor is configured to transmit the first message to the secondinformation terminal and the second message to the first informationterminal on a condition that the distance between the first informationterminal and the vehicle is larger than a predetermined distance.
 6. Theinformation processing device according to claim 1, wherein theinformation indicating the positional relationship between the firstinformation terminal and the vehicle includes block informationindicating a location of the first information terminal and blockinformation indicating a location of the vehicle.
 7. The informationprocessing device according to claim 1, wherein the first informationterminal and the second information terminal are each configured to:notify a start of a program update by the vehicle, notify a completionof a program download by the vehicle, and notify a completion of theprogram update by the vehicle.
 8. The information processing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the first information terminal and thesecond information terminal are each configured to accept vehicleoperations, and the vehicle operations include: locking and unlocking avehicle door, and turning on and off a vehicle electric power source. 9.An information processing method, comprising: acquiring informationindicating a positional relationship between a first informationterminal and a vehicle in association with the first informationterminal; and transmitting a first message to a second informationterminal and a second message to the first information terminal based onthe information indicating the positional relationship between the firstinformation terminal and the vehicle, wherein the second informationterminal is different from the first information terminal and is inassociation with the vehicle.
 10. The information processing methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the first message is transmitted to thesecond information terminal and the second message is transmitted to thefirst information terminal based on the information indicating thepositional relationship between the first information terminal and thevehicle and a duration of the positional relationship between the firstinformation terminal and the vehicle.
 11. The information processingmethod according to claim 9, wherein the information indicating thepositional relationship between the first information terminal and thevehicle includes information indicating whether the first informationterminal located within a range where the first information terminal isable to communicate with the vehicle using a predetermined communicationmethod.
 12. The information processing method according to claim 9,wherein the information indicating the positional relationship betweenthe first information terminal and the vehicle includes informationindicating a distance between the first information terminal and thevehicle.
 13. The information processing method according to claim 12,wherein the first message is transmitted to the second informationterminal and the second message is transmitted to the first informationterminal on a condition that the distance between the first informationterminal and the vehicle is larger than a predetermined distance. 14.The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein theinformation indicating the positional relationship between the firstinformation terminal and the vehicle includes block informationindicating a location of the first information terminal and blockinformation indicating a location of the vehicle.
 15. A non-transitorystorage medium for storing commands that are executable by one or moreprocessor and that cause the one or more processor to execute functions,the functions comprising: acquiring information indicating a positionalrelationship between a first information terminal and a vehicle inassociation with the first information terminal; and transmitting afirst message to a second information terminal and a second message tothe first information terminal based on the information indicating thepositional relationship between the first information terminal and thevehicle, wherein the second information terminal is different from thefirst information terminal and is in association with the vehicle. 16.The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 15, wherein thefirst message is transmitted to the second information terminal and thesecond message is transmitted to the first information terminal based onthe information indicating the positional relationship between the firstinformation terminal and the vehicle and a duration of the positionalrelationship between the first information terminal and the vehicle. 17.The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 15, wherein theinformation indicating the positional relationship between the firstinformation terminal and the vehicle includes information indicatingwhether the first information terminal located within a range where thefirst information terminal is able to communicate with the vehicle usinga predetermined communication method.
 18. The non-transitory storagemedium according to claim 15, wherein the information indicating thepositional relationship between the first information terminal and thevehicle includes information indicating a distance between the firstinformation terminal and the vehicle.
 19. The non-transitory storagemedium according to claim 18, wherein the first message is transmittedto the second information terminal and the second message is transmittedto the first information terminal on a condition that the distancebetween the first information terminal and the vehicle is larger than apredetermined distance.
 20. The non-transitory storage medium accordingto claim 15, wherein the information indicating the positionalrelationship between the first information terminal and the vehicleincludes block information indicating a location of the firstinformation terminal and block information indicating a location of thevehicle.